Flashback Friday

We have some very interesting and diverse conversations in our lunchroom at work; some of which I can't repeat here in TWIT.  But most of them are very interesting and entertaining.  Today during lunch, a co-worker was talking about a cartoon he watched as a young boy.  He's 32 years old - a Generation X kid - and on more than one occasion I've had to stop and explain something I was talking about because he's too young to remember.  Well today, he stumped me - he was talking about a cartoon that I'm too old to remember.  Truthfully, he can't remember it either.  So we're asking for you, faithful readers, to help us out and see if you remember what cartoon he's thinking about.  I'm afraid we don't have much to go on except for these few clues:

There were 5 characters:
The leader  - he was white, and flew a jet like an F16
Another guy - he was blue, and he had a race car
Girl - she was pink, and had either a motorcycle or a helicopter
Big Goofball guy - Kind of like Shaggy from Scooby Do
Little monkey guy  (Goofball Guy's sidekick)

If any of you remember this cartoon from the 80's, please leave comments and let us know what it is.  I don't even know where you would begin on doing a Google search for this.  I hope someone loves trivia as much as me, and can give the answer. There's no prize involved, but you will get props in TWIT. 

Live To Ride

I'm very happy to report that tonight, I attended my second Bike Night.  First of all, let me say I'm sorry that I didn't take my camera so I could document the evening; I promise I'll get pictures the next time I attend.  But just like the first Bike Night I attended two years ago, this was very badass. 

This Bike Night is one of the biggest held in the city - I'm not a good estimator, but I'll take a stab and say that when I left the Bike Night after the first hour of the event, there was over 400 bikes there.  I went from Bike Night over to the VFW to conduct some Ladies Auxiliary business, and when I left there at about 9:00, I saw probably the same amount of bikes - if not more - about a block away from the VFW at the cool hangout The Swamp.  To see just a sea of motorcycles of every shape, size and brand was a feeeling I just can't describe.  And I'm not a diehard bike fan, either; I can't imagine how a hardcore motorcycle fan would react to seeing that many motorcycles in one place. 

This Thursday night Bike Night was held in the parking lot by the Texas Roadhouse steakhouse and the recently closed Dillards shopping center.  So with the store closed, there's plenty of space for bikes.  I met a few co-workers and one VFW member there, and I have to say I had an awesome time.  Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to me.  Men and women that I'd never met before were patting me on the shoulder or arm and saying "hi" to me.  And I'm proud to report that I had several invitations for rides on very badass bikes, too; all of which I turned down because I had some business to conduct at the VFW.  But I felt very honored that an obvious outsider like me would be made to feel at home. 

When I got home tonight, I spent fifteen minutes telling the 'rents about the cool time at Bike Night, and told them I'd be taking them up there the next time I could attend.  Dad has a Harley t-shirt and Mom has an American flag t-shirt that they can wear and feel a part of it all.  You can rest assured that I'll have my camera that night to document the evening.  Until then, live to ride, ride to live.

File Under: WTF?

                                                  60-year-old N.J. woman delivers twins

Believed to be the oldest mom in the U.S. to give birth to multiples

The Associated Press

Updated: 9:47 a.m. ET May 23, 2007

TRENTON, N.J. - A 60-year-old woman became a mother, twice over, when she delivered a pair of boys Tuesday.

Frieda Birnbaum gave birth to “Baby A” at 12:44 p.m. and “Baby B” a minute later by Caesarean section at Hackensack University Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Nancy Radwin said. The twins each weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces, she said.

“The mom is in recovery, and she and the babies are doing really well,” Radwin said, declining a request to speak with the mother.

Hospital officials believe Birnbaum may be the oldest woman to give birth to twins in the United States, Radwin said.

Birnbaum, a psychologist from Saddle River, underwent in-vitro fertilization last year in Cape Town, South Africa, at a center that specializes in older women. She and her husband, Ken, a New York attorney, have been married for 38 years and have three other children — sons ages 6 and 33 and a daughter, 29.

Birnbaum told Fox News she wanted her younger son to have siblings closer to his age and wanted to remove some of the stigma attached to older women giving birth.

Coincidentally, Tuesday was the birthday of twins born one year ago to a 59-year-old woman — also to a New Jersey woman. Lauren Cohen gave birth to Gregory and Giselle on May 22, 2006, at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia.

Cohen said Birnbaum contacted her after seeing her name in a magazine and that the two quickly became friends.

“We talked about babies; I suggested things that would be helpful whenyou try to feed two babies simultaneously,” Cohen said.

                                                                                                                                                    The only thing I can say about this is may the good Lord help her. 

                                                                                                                                 

 

Gas Price Update

Gas prices are still at an all-time high here in the 'Ville - $3.31-$3.39 a gallon, depending on which part of the county you're in.  It's just beyond outragious, if you as me.  One of my cousins, who happens to be one of the city's best car mechanics, gave us some advice this weekend.  He fixed our rototiller last week, and when he brought it back (in excellent working condition, I might add) he said that the problem was the gas that it had been using.  He went on to say that in lieu of the $$$ fuel injector and fuel pump repairs that I had on the Blazer a few weeks ago, that we should be using the non-reformulated gas in our vehicles and lawn equipment.  Jefferson County has the reformulated gas, but just miles away down Dixie Highway in Hardin County in the scenic river town of West Point, you can get the non-reformulated gas. 

I'd heard friends and neighbors say that for years, they'd made the 10+ mile trek to West Point to get gas because not only was it better for your cars, but it was also cheaper.  I'd thought it was just an urban legend until my cousin gave us the info last week.  So today after work, I headed out to West Point to fill up the Blazer and see for myself.  Sure, it was a tad bit farther than I'd care to go to get gas (it was exactly 13 miles from the gas station to The Compound) but the gas there was 20 cents cheaper per gallon then is it a half mile up the road.  Plus it's the good non-reformulated gas. 

I'll keep track of my milage, and when I fill up again I'll report what my miles per gallon was.  Then when I fill up again, I'll get gas in my 'hood and compare the two.  I'm anxious to see if my milage is better.  But even if the milage is about the same, I'll probably continue to get my gas at West Point just because it's not reformulated.  I need all the help I can get with my two old cars.

No, Your Eyesight Isn't Playing Tricks On You

The folks at AOL are at it again - they've been working for the past week on the AOL Journals, and have added some "enhancements", if you will.  Among the changes are the way that you, my faithful readers, view the photographs that I post in TWIT.  Before, they would be just the normal way - in the center of the box, or frame, as the AOL people call it.  Since the enhancements, photographs now are zoomed in, zoomed out, and basically are all over the place.  I really don't care for this enhancement; it gives me a headache trying to look at a picture.  And from the emails I've received, my faithful readers don't care for it as well.  But never fear - AOL's people are working on this and they've promised to give us bloggers the capability of having our photographs the old way.  So please bear with me until this is fixed.  I'll try not to post any photographs until this is fixed. 

Link Of The Week

When Diva Stacy sent me this link a week ago, I have to honestly say that I didn't look it for a day or two. In the email she said it starred Will Ferrell, and not being a Will Ferrell fan, I kinda dawdled around before I watched it. After one time, I thought "Well, it's not all that funny."  But then I watched it one time, and then one more time, and then one more time, and then I was hooked.  I have to say that this is in my top three funniest online videos I've ever seen.  Check it out for yourself at:  http://www.funnyordie.com/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925.  If you're not hooked on it the first time like I was, just give it another time or two and you'll be rolling like I was. 

Cooking At The Compound

Last night was the annual VFW and Ladies Auxiliary officers installation ceremony at VFW Post 5421, and we had quite a spread for the dinner following the ceremony.  The canteen manager, Paulie, cooked some awesome ribs outside on the grill, and used his top secret barbeque sauce.  Well, I guess it's not all that secret, since he told Mom what was in it.  We also had great fried chicken and quite a variety of side dishes.  One of my favorite little old ladies in the Auxiliary, Bert, made an awesome dish called Dorito Casserole, and let me tell you it rocked.  She called me this morning with the recipe and I just have to share it with you. 

Dorito Casserole

Casserole Ingredients:

1 large 13-ounce package of nacho Doritos (save 2 cups for casserole topping)
2 tbsp. onion, grated
1 10-ounce can of chili with beans
10- to 15-ounce can of enchilada sauce
8-ounce can of tomato sauce
1½ cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Topping Ingredients:

2 cups Doritos
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1¼ cups of sour cream

Casserole Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Crumble 6 cups of Doritos with your hands into a large mixing bowl.
Add the onion, the chili, the enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and 1½ cups of cheddar cheese to the crumbled Doritos. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Place mixture into an 8½ x 11-inch oven-proof casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Spread the sour cream over the top of the casserole with a large spoon or rubber spatula.
Top with remaining 2 cups Doritos. Then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.
Bake for another five minutes and serve.